Every once in a while I need to get my “fix.” Yes, I am
addicted to a few things in life, like popcorn. I really love popcorn. Recently
I have learned from a popcorn making connoisseur how to make really good
homemade popcorn.

I also have to get my family fix on a daily basis: my
husband, children, and grandchildren. There is my
talking-on-the-phone-to-my-friends fix that I need to do on a daily basis. And,
of course, I can’t lie to you: I have a Starbucks fix!

Getting a fix has a bad reputation because it suggests one
is addicted to something that is bad for you. For example, a heroin addict
needs to get his or her fix. We could, however, be addicted to things that are
less dangerous, like for example, good books or Chinese food.

We all have our addictions, good or bad. But I’m here today
to talk about our “Jesus fix.” This may be the one thing that brings all of us
together, the one thing we all have in common. Most of us have some form of an
addiction to Jesus.

The good thing about needing a Jesus fix is that we won’t
suffer from physical withdrawals if we have to go a few days without him.
Unlike some of our other habits, like surfing the internet or playing on our
cell phones, we don’t have to rely on fickle technology to keep in touch with
him.

So how do we get our Jesus fix? Some people get their Jesus
fix by praying to him. Some, who are of a more mystical nature, get their fix “abiding
in his presence.” Some simply get their fix by reading about him, either in the
pages of the Bible or in the pages of books written about him.

Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ first disciples, the men
and women who actually followed him around and got to hang out with him? How
about that for a Jesus fix? Furthermore, can you imagine being one of Jesus’ closest friends? How exciting,
interesting, and sometimes perplexing that must have been.

According to the Gospel writers, three of Jesus’ disciples
seem to have fit that bill: Peter, James, and John. We often call them “the
inner circle.” If the biblical writers had not been so patriarchal and enamored
with “male privilege,” they would have included women in Jesus’ inner circle
because we know they were there!

Nevertheless, we will stick with the way the story is told. Peter,
James, and John have the privilege of hiking with Jesus up a mountain. They go
there to pray—to get their God fix.

Mountains are important in the worldview of the biblical
writers because God was thought to be up
there. Therefore, a mountain got you as close to God as humanly possible.
In the modern world we have had to rethink our understanding of where God is
because we know “up there” is a lot of empty space, planets, stars, and
galaxies.

Still, I don’t think many modern people would argue that
there is not something about mountains—and nature in general—that make us feel
closer to God. If you want a God fix, a climbable mountain or hill is a good
place to go if for nothing more than the solitude it provides.

So Peter, James, and John accompany their friend and leader
up the mountainside to pray. While they are praying something extraordinary
occurs. Jesus’ face changes and his clothes become dazzling white.

Of course, in the ancient world, no one’s garment was ever “dazzling white.” They didn’t have
laundry detergent, bleach, or washing machines, and, more importantly, they
were always walking around in the dirt. In that place and time, nothing was
very clean by today’s standards.

Frankly, I don’t know why a Madison Avenue advertising
agency has not yet picked up on the idea of using this story to advertise their
client’s laundry detergent. (Don Draper of “Mad Men” fame would be all over
that!)

This story—what we call the “Transfiguration Story”—is like
a television commercial with the sole purpose of trying to sell Jesus. Like all good commercials, it employs a little
exaggeration while effectively communicating the central truth. And the central
truth of the Transfiguration Story is that Jesus is One. Very. Important.
Person.

Two of the most important historical figures in the Jewish
faith pop out of nowhere: Moses, who represents the Jewish law, and Elijah, who
represents the Jewish prophets. A cloud appears, reminding us of the pillar of
clouds that led Moses and the Israelites through the wilderness.

The voice of God speaks from the clouds, reminding us of
Jesus’ baptism. Not only does God repeat what was said at Jesus’ baptism that
he is God’s “beloved” or “chosen” Son, the voice demands, “Listen to him!”
Again: One. Very. Important. Person.

Moses and Elijah share something else in common with Jesus:
their deaths are shrouded in mystery. There are no bodies to be found. The book of Deuteronomy tells us that Moses
died and was buried in the land of Moab, with this added caveat: “but no one
knows the place of his burial to this day.” That’s the story-teller’s way of
asking, “Did he really die?”

Elijah, of course, didn’t really die, according to the book
of 2 Kings. As if he is hailing a cab, Elijah is picked up by a chariot and
horses of fire and lifted up in a whirlwind. What a way to go, right?

And then there’s Jesus, who dies, is placed in a borrowed
tomb, and is raised from the dead. All
three—Moses, Elijah, and Jesus—are biblical jabs at the power and finality of
death.

We get the point: the storyteller is trying to sell Jesus. To use the language of
television commercials, Jesus is a “new and improved” version of the Law and
the Prophets, the two pillars of Jewish religion. This is savvy, creative
story-telling, enough to make any Madison Avenue advertising agency envious.

The Transfiguration Story is just one of those stories that
are rich in imagery and meaning. For me, it is one of the best stories in the
Gospels to read when I need a Jesus fix. My face may not change and my clothes
may not become dazzling white when I read it, but I am reminded that there is
more to life than popcorn and Starbucks!

Friday, February 26, 2016

As I reflect on today’s Gospel Call
of; Simon, James and Zebedee, I am noticing several things. First, the three men had been fishing all
night and had caught no fish. Second,
after Jesus had finished speaking to the crowd, he asked the fishers to “pull
out into deeper water” and lower their nets.
They caught an overwhelming abundance of fish that brought their nets to
the breaking point. They responded with
awe and astonishment and Simon also responded with a traditional surge of
unworthiness and guilt. Jesus reassured
them, not to be afraid and invited them to become fishers of humankind. I hope my sharing invites you to pull out
into, even deeper, water still.

This year, we as a community are
choosing to grow in the themes of Mercy and Compassion. Therefore, I would like to couple, my
reflection on this gospel with two different paradigms and understandings of; Mercy
and Compassion. The first paradigm and
understanding is; the traditional religious concept of Mercy that in some ways
may be currently conveyed by Pope Francis and The Vatican. I invite you to look at the official poster
for The Jubilee year of Mercy. Take a
moment, before I tell you what I see, to notice what you might see
yourself.

As I look at this poster, I notice
the traditional paradigm of Mercy being conveyed. Jesus, The Divine One, appears to be; the
Active Agent of Mercy and the beneficiary of Mercy in this poster appears to be;
a passive recipient of God’s Generous Act to, the unworthy one, being
carried. The slogan claims, that this is
to be; “Merciful Like The Father.” I
have some discouraged feelings about this Jubilee Year of Mercy. To add to my
experience of the poster, recently, Francis commissioned a special group of
1000 men, all male priests, to be special missionaries of mercy. To me, this suggests that men are the only
ones capable of being active agents and missionaries of mercy. That is a traditional masculine way of
knowing. No longer manifested by all men
but, it is still the dominant paradigm in a trickle down economy of mercy and
grace.

Now, I invite you to look upon this painting. The painting was commissioned by President Lincoln to
commemorate how Mercy Sisters and other Sisters, served as Nurses and leaders
of military hospitals, for both the union and confederate soldiers, during The
American Civil War. Please take a moment
to notice what you see before I tell you what I notice.

The Sisters of Mercy, were sent to;
battlefields, military hospitals and hospital ships. The Sisters were known to
attend to patients with typhoid and small pox when others fled. Some of the Sisters were taken as prisoners
of war, when they were caught by the wrong military official, for caring for
the enemy. At the beginning of the civil
war, the Sisters, were the only trained nurses that the Union had. When
the Sisters were unable to get the food and supplies they needed due to some
very strong anti-Catholic Sentiments, President Lincoln issued an executive
order to be sure that the sisters were given everything they need and paid for
by the union military. These Acts of;
The Mercy Sisters, The Daughters of Charity and Holy Cross Sisters was written
about in newspapers throughout the north. At the end of the war, these sisters
were given status and pensions as Veterans of The Civil War. In 1924, a monument was commissioned to
honor, The Nuns of The Battlefield. The inscription reads; “They comforted the
dying, nursed the wounded, carried hope to the imprisoned and in his name a
drink of water to the thirsty.” Don’t
get me wrong, I’m sure what Simon, James and Zebedee witnessed from Jesus, on
the day of their call to become fishers of humankind, was an astonishing
abundance of fish! But when I think of the Compassionate and Merciful
Altruistic generosity of these Sisters, I wonder how one can imagine that women
cannot do miraculous acts of mercy and compassion as well? If what these nuns did is not conveying the
fullness of; mercy, forgiveness, compassion and grace, than what is?

You see, I am a graduate of Mercy High
School in Farmington. When the idea of;
A Jubilee year of Mercy came out, I immediately thought of The Mercy
Sisters. I thought about how The Mercy Sisters
have manifested almost 200 Jubilee Years of Mercy since they were founded in
Dublin, Ireland in the 1830’s. Now, just think about that for a moment, they
only started in Dublin in the 1830s and here they were, in America, only 30
years later, to run and manage 35 military hospitals during the American Civil
War. These women casted their nets into
far deeper waters of awesome abundance than Simon, James and Zebedee could have
imagined!

Once
again, I am baffled, that The Vatican and even sadder, Pope Francis does not
recognize women as Active Agents of Mercy or anything else. Thank God,
President Lincoln did! These Sisters do not demonstrate a paradigm
that, they are; The only active agents of mercy and all the rest of us are
passive recipients. They seemed to intuitively notice an economy of mercy that
remembers the word, mercy, comes from an
ancient estruscan word; mercy, like in “commerce or merchant” it means an
exchange between two capable agents and not a top down model rationed out
economy, by just a few.

Mercy and Compassion are my core identity
and my deepest way of seeing. I am
empowered to come out at the world with the same kind of compassion and mercy
that The Nuns of The Battlefield had. I
hope we can learn to take more time to go into our own storehouse of Mercy and
Compassion inside our hearts, engaging our own intensive daily practices and
that we will build each other up to do the same for others. We also need to have practices ready, to
help stay in the present moment and our merciful compassionate consciousness
when surges of fear surface in ourselves and the greater community. Fear can drive us right out of merciful and
compassionate consciousness. I invite each of us to find our ways in The Universal
Field of Mercy and Compassion to be active agents for a world in need. As you go along, Here is a chant that I offer to us:

The Universe
is Mercy within Compassion within Mercy within Compassion weaving throughout
everything always.

I’d like to close
my sharing with these midrash quotes from Teilhard de Chardin on The Book of
Proverbs chapter 8. Teilhard entitled
the entire poem this comes from as;

“The Eternal
Feminine”

“I sit at the city gates, at the crossroads
of a world in crisis begging for mercy & compassion. I attempt to open the eyes of each presence
of pain & suffering in the world.
Whenever & wherever possible, I encourage tender compassion,
forgiveness, & sacrificial love, attitudes that characterize the sensitive
soul….. Sophia is the Mercy of God in Us.
Tender compassion radiates from her presence. She speaks to us from the
poor ones of our world, seeking in their name, kindness, empathy and love. She sits at the crossroads of our lives, ever
imploring us to work for peace, to engage in fruitful dialogue, and to find new
ways of connecting with the other. She
longs to open our eyes to the presence of pain and suffering in the world, to
transform our hearts, and to move our action.”

I invite you
to sit quietly and contemplatively for a moment. What does Sophia want you to remember from
what I shared? What does she want you to
see? How will you respond to her being
the Mercy and Compassion of God within you?

In today's reading from the book of Exodus,Moses spots a flame in a
bush,and when he checks it out,he finds that it's a messenger from
God.And then, when he gets nearer, he hears God's name—I AM WHO
AM.God IS.Moses learns the nature of God, and of all that is:the
ground he stands on is holy;the people of God are holy;all creation is
on fire with God's love.The bush is burning.From the stardust of
creationto this very day,every bush is burning.God's name is written
in all that is,and it is to be remembered
forever._______________________________________Nearly 1500 years later,
Jesus looks aroundand sees that people are not remembering the name of
God.They are not remembering that the ground is holy.They do not see
that all creation is on fire with the love of God.So he tells people about
it._______________________________________In the passage just before
today's Gospel,he tells the crowds that they knowhow to interpret signs
of the earth and the skybut not the signs of the time.He asks them why
they don't judge for themselves what is right.Then he tells them that, if
they don't change their ways,they will all perish,and he follows
thatwith the parable of the fig that isn't bearing fruit.The owner wants
to cut it down,but the gardener pleads for timeto try some routine
horticultural practicesfor just one more year to bring it into
fruit._______________________________________Now, it takes three to five
years for a fig tree to fruit,and the planter of the tree expects fruit in
the fourth year.The gardener knows that it should mature and bear
fruitby the next year, its fifth year.If there's no change, it will be
destroyed.The crowd recognizes the fig treeas a typical metaphor for the
Israelite people.They understand that Jesus is sayingthat the center of
their culture—the Temple in Jerusalem and its cult of Roman
collaborators—is unfruitful.And the crowd clearly understands his
message:unless they change, unless the Temple changes,all will
perish._______________________________________Now, 2000 years after
Jesus, and 3500 years after Moses,we hear the same message,this time
aimed at us.In Pope Francis' encyclical Laudatio Si'we hear that the
center of our culture is unproductive;unless we change, we will
perish.We hear Francis calling us to heed the signs of our times.There's
lead in Flint's water, microcystin in ours.Record heat and record
cold.Record earthquakes and cyclones and tornadoes.Violence in Kalamazoo
and on our streets in Toledoand around the world.Zika virus.Air
pollution, water pollution, land pollution, extinction of species.They're
all around us, the signs of our times,calling us to change our ways,or
we will perish._______________________________________It's inspiring to
see so many Toledoans,especially our Holy Spirit Community,changing
their personal lifestyle habitsto become more and more responsiveto
Francis' call to care for creation.Some folks carpool, or bike to work, even
in winter.Some turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.More are
buying local food at local businesses.Some are researching candidates'
environmental positionsso they can vote their consciences in the March 15
primary.And all of us are trying to get a few trees planted.Big things
and little things,each of them part of the effort to take better care of our
planet._______________________________________Inspiring as all these
good works are,we know we have to do more.God's name is written in all
that is,and human selfishness and greed are destroying it.That's why
we're spending time this Lent fine-tuning our lives,eager to follow ever
more closely the lesson Jesus teaches.We must read the signs of the
times.We must judge what is right and act on it.We must care for
creationas an act of love for God and neighborand a work of justice for
all.Amen.

Newsweek StoryDemonstrators calling for the Catholic Church to include women priests gather prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, for a prayer service and meeting with U.S. bishops, in Washington, September 23.MIKE THEILER/REUTERS

Monday, February 22, 2016

Have you seen the movie “Princess Bride?” It is one of
those movies you have to see more than one time so that you can appreciate the
lines that use subtle humor to make profound points. In one part of this movie
the dread Pirate Roberts is following Vizzini and Indigo Montoya. Every time Vizzini thinks that he has
hindered the dread Pirate Roberts from staying on his trail Roberts not only
remains in sight but he gets closer. Roberts is like a super hero who seems to
defy the laws of gravity and exhibits great strength and power. We hear Vizzini
say “Inconceivable” many times as he turns to see the dread Pirate Roberts
getting closer. Finally Indigo Montoya confronts Vizzini on his use of the word
inconceivable and says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what
you think it means.” Vizzini is having trouble understanding what he is seeing
but Mantoya points out that since these things keep happening maybe he has the
wrong word to describe this mysterious person. Or does he? Vizzini’s experience
of trying to understand the dread pirate Robert’s powers and abilities is similar
to what we find in the scripture passages today regarding the human experience
of trying to understand God’s power and abilities. Is God’s presence
conceivable or inconceivable?

In Luke’s transfiguration story the three disciples are
learning more about who Jesus is. This
prayer experience with Jesus on the mountain is a mystical experience. They are
in direct connection with the divine. They are experiencing God’s glory. Peter
is so amazed that he wants to erect booths so as to contain this glorious
experience. He thinks Jesus, the Messiah of God, has completed his mission. God
corrects Peter’s desire to contain the divine in booths by enveloping him and
his friends in the presence of the divine, which came in the form of a cloud.

God’s transformative presence is all around us but we
like Peter either may want to contain it so it can not contain us or we may be
afraid of its power and turn instead toward worldly and human power which takes
us away from God.

We get glimpses of God’s presence or glory in many
ways. Seeing the Grand Canyon or a mountain for the first time can be a
powerful experience of the sacred. When we hear a beautiful song or see a work of
art that opens us to the divine we can conceive of God’s power. Holding a new,
born baby or seeing the sunset at the ocean can leave us speechless. God’s
presence is conceivable but it is up to us whether we are open or closed to its
effects.

In the story
found in Genesis, the smoking fire pot and flaming torch symbolized God passing
between the animals that were split in half. This is the way covenants were ritualized
long ago and in essence says the one who goes between the split animals would
rather be spilt in half, themselves, than break the covenant. An interesting
detail in this story is that God is the only one who goes between the animals.
Abram does not. This powerful story of God wanting to be in a covenant relationship
with humans continues to echo as Peter, John and James encounter God ‘s glorified
presence in the transfiguration story. In both stories God wants to be in a
meaningful relationship with humans. Inconceivable!

But there is more mindboggling information for Peter
and his friends. Jesus, the Messiah of God must go to “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the
city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Jesus’
mission includes going to Jerusalem, being sentenced to death on a cross when
he did not commit a crime. He will then be resurrected. Jesus’ suffering and
death is transformed into new life and eternal glory. Inconceivable!

So why would this loving God who wants us to be
transformed allow his son to suffer and die? Why did Jesus’ mission include
suffering and dying on a cross? This is the part that Peter could not
understand. We like Peter have trouble understanding suffering. How can there be
children in the world who die each day of starvation? Why are so many elderly
people suffering due to severe loneliness? Why does racism and sexism still
exist? Why do we continue to be in wars? Where is God? Where are the people?

Could it be that the sinful human response to the
Messiah of God is what needs transforming? Jesus came to offer love and the
love was rejected. It is not God who wants or needs suffering. When people
reject God there is suffering. Love came
into our world in the form of Jesus and he was rejected, he suffered and he
died. Because God loves us, suffering and death do not have the final say.

As we heard in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have
often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is
destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their
minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is
from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will
transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of
his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to
himself.” We are born into a world of sin and find God’s glory inconceivable
until we allow the transformative power of God’s presence to create us into our
full selves.

Have you
seen glimpses of God’s glory lately?

God’s glory is conceivable. We experience the divine
in similar ways that are described in these scripture stories. Scripture scholar
Joel Green writes, “In the Old Testament and Jewish tradition one’s countenance
is a mirror of one’s heart and a manifestation of one’s relationship to
God.” The disciples witnessed Jesus praying
and saw his face and clothes become radiant. Jesus models a close
transformational relationship with God. A common expression used today is to
say that someone is glowing. It means the person has a joyful and loving
essence that comes from the inside out. Have you ever known someone like that? Are you someone who radiates with the love of Christ?

Hopefully we can all attest to the transformational
power of love in our own human relationships which can seem to makes us shine
brightly. So maybe we can conceive of a God who longs for a loving relationship
with us. If human relationships are transformational how much more will a
relationship with God transform us? We unfortunately have also seen the
destructive power of human relationships. Some people may be surrounded by
relationships that destroy their spirits. When someone is caught in unhealthy
life destroying relationships with people the answer to their suffering is to
listen to Jesus and turn to God. When human relationships threaten to destroy
us we must come to God. A relationship with God is the one relationship that we
can trust. New life and powerful transformative healing is always available to
us in a relationship with the Divine Holy One. Will you allow a loving
relationship with God to transform you?

May we use this season of Lent to become more aware of
God’s glorious presence that surrounds us, like a cloud. May we come to a
better understanding of who Jesus is, in a way that strengthens our
relationship with God. May we courageously bring the transformational power of
love into this world full of people who suffer.
And may the inconceivable presence and glory of God become conceivable.

Violence, corruption, decade old brutal criminal and narco warfare,
egregious human rights abuses, trafficking, war, disunity, murder are only some
of the adjectives used in the article on the Pope's trip to Mexico. And yet we
refer to the people escaping these criminal forces as immigrants, aliens,
illegals.It seems to me that these are as much refugees as those escaping
countries in the Middle East! The same conditions apply for they too are fleeing
bloodshed. They too are refugees from such terrible violence.

Once
these refugees arrive they are labeled 'undocumented' and when the bed quota
falls below the mandated Congressional level of 34,000 in our mostly private
prisons, then ICE ( Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids the major cities
to find enough human beings - illegals, aliens, and immigrants to jail. So much
for refugees.

Yes, we have a law, passed by our elected representatives
in Congress in 2009, that mandates that we keep 34,000 undocumented immigrants
in prisons every day! Follow the money on this one as Corrections Corporation of
America (CCA) and GEO, for profit private prison corporations, legally profit
from these 'bed quota' laws that cost taxpayers like you and me at least
$2billion a year

If we were to recognize these human beings fleeing
from Central and South America as refugees, which they truly are then. perhaps,
once again the words of Emma Lazarus's on the Statue of Liberty would ring true
" give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe
free."

I am going to speak first
on what we already know, then what is happening and finally what we can do.

Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. in the state of Florida. Florida was the
first state to reintroduce the death
penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all
statutes in the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision. 19 states and the District of Columbia do not
have the death penalty

When the U.S. Supreme
Court struck down Florida's death penalty law last month, the state was left
with no functioning capital punishment
statue. In an 8-1 ruling , only Justice
Samuel Alito dissenting, the court found Florida's law violated the Sixth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights related to
criminal prosecutions, because judges,
not juries, make the final decision imposing the death sentence. (among the 31
states that allow death penalty only Alabama and Delaware do not require
unanimous jury decisions and Delaware's law is under review. Alabama requires a 10-2 vote and only Florida
has a 7-5 majority rule.

All the way back to 2005 the Florida Supreme Court
suggested that there should be a unanimity rule on jurors but our Legislature
has ignored this judicial warning for 10 years.
Now these, our elected legislators, are thrown into a tizzy! Trying to
come up with and pass a law that will allow the scheduled executions to
continue. The Florida Senate favors unanimity, which is all jurors voting for the
death penalty, the logical way to go.
Most polls suggest Floridians don't want
the death penalty at all according to the Miami Herald

Right now, there are
40 or more cases in active appeal according to the Miami Herald in which the
death penalty can no longer apply. And
an article in the Orlando Sentinel adds that the Florida court already heard
arguments in the Michael Lambrix case, originally scheduled for execution in
March, but hasn't yet decided on whether the latest U.S. Supreme Court decision
applies retroactively. If it does,
nearly every Death Row inmate, now at 393, would have a new avenue for appeal.

30 sates have not
carried out an execution in several
years

Only 2% of all
counties in the U.S. Are responsible for over 50% of all executions since
1976****

156 innocent people
have been freed from death row.

Florida has had 92
Exeutions since 1976

And we continue to be
the first in the nation. The first in
Exonerations at 26, more than Texas or
Louisiana

And as Mark Elliot of Floridians for
Alternative to the Death Penalty says “a person who has been wrongly put to
death cannot be exonerated! He goes on
to say that “Killing locked up people is too dangerous, too expensive, and
absolutely unnecessary”

Governor Scott
has signed more death warrants than any of his predecessors

Also of note, and
this is important, important because it is little known,

In Duval County
Florida, (Jacksonville) an elected public defender fired respected senior
capital litigators in 2009 and installed
as deputy chief and head of homicide defense a lawyer, Refik Eler, who has at
least 8 former clients on death row – the most of any lawyer in Florida. Eler has already been found ineffective by
the Florida Supreme Court in three capital cases for failing to investigate
both guilt and penalty issues according
to the Death Penalty Information Center.

While the use of the
death penalty in the United States has been steadily declining in recent years
it is now largely isolated to a handful of state which actively use it.

Despite this
diminished use, the flaws and failures of the death penalty are more apparent
than ever. There is still racism in the application of the death sentence. Inadequate support services are given to
the families of victims as well as for
prison workers who carry out the execution. According to Equal Justice USA
executions traumatize corrections and government officials. “Every execution requires a team of workers
who watch the inmate in the final days, who strap the inmate to the gurney, who
insert and often reinsert te needles, and who remove the body after the
execution. Corrections officials haunted
by the experience of putting people to death have committed suicide, turned to
alcohol, or suffered mental and physical health problems.

“Sometimes I wonder
whether people really understand what goes on down here and the effect it has
on us. Here is what some have to say:

Many of us who take part in this process live with
nightmares

For me, those nights
that weren't sleepless were plagued by nightmares.

There are many quotes
of this nature

Executions also
Traumatize clergy, jurors, and journalists
who report

symptoms of anxiety,
nausea, and nightmares among those who recently witnessed an execution

And a new set of
victims is created among family members of the condemned who watch - the stories told by the mothers who saw
their sons being put to death “Some would just wail out crying. It's a sound you'll never hear any place
else, an awful sound that sticks with you “ says Jim Willet, former warden,
Huntsville Tx who oversaw 89 executions

Some current presidential candidates have announced their
opposition to the death penalty and more have pointed to the numerous problems
with it according to the National Coalition to abolish death penality

Jeb Bush says “I have to admit that I'm conflicted about
this As governor he signed 21 death warrants. As governor he
voted to accelerate the appeal process
and increased the number of executions. This would be in opposition to the
Catholic church's stand on the death penalty and Jeb does claim to be Catholic.

Hillary Clinton 's opinion has shifted over the years. As a lawyer in AK she defended people on death row and was an
opponent. As First Lady she voiced
support for the death penalty but recently she began to qualify her support and
how frequently it is applied

Ted Cruz is a passionate supporter of the death penalty During his legal career he argued in favor of
the death penalty in front of the Supreme Court five times

Marco Rubio says “ protracted legal battles in death penalty
cases hinder justice for the victims and erode public confidence He advocates for an increase in the pace of
executions

Bernie Sanders opposes the death penalty and always has. “The state itself, in a democratic, civilized
society, should itself not be involved in the murder of other Americans.

And Donald Trump, just as we would expect :” I have always been a big believer, and
continue to be, of the death penalty for horrendous crime” ( He
paid for an ad in NYT when a teenager was on trial for murder- that called for
the death penalty. The teen was later
cleared by DNA after serving 13 years on death row)

Charley Wells, a retired justice of the Florida Supreme Court
from 1992 to 2009 and as chief justice 2000-02
argues that in Florida, the appeals procedures mean that inmates can be
on death row for up to 30 years, and says “for such long periods this is cruel
punishment” He recommends that if the
death penalty will not be executed within the next two years, the sentence be
commuted to life, and the prisoner removed from death row restrictions. He goes on to say “this is not only the right
thing to do ; it will save tax money, which can then be used for beneficial
services, some of which may prevent some person from becoming a death row
inmate.”

MVFR, Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation is an organization and a community led by family
members of murder victims and the executed that advocates for ending and
replacing the death penalty. Understanding that victim families are on a
spectrum of recovery, MVFR identifies, engages and mobilizes its members to
build communities of support that educate the public on the harms of the death
penalty, the true needs of the victim families and the transformative power of
restorative justice. MVFR works with a variety of individuals and organizations
that share a commitments to build a safer society and heal the damage caused by
violence. One of the questions asked by
a member “ Do two wrongs make a
right. If my child is murdered must I
seek the murder of another?” The
director of MVFR is Dr. Jack Sullivan whose sister Jennifer was murdered in
Cleveland in 1997, a crime which remains unsolved.

“On behalf of thousands who have lost loved ones to murder,
myself included, I rise to say to our elected officials that murdering those
who were convicted does not bring us closure, does not produce healing....

Their Mantra: We do
our job best when we create space for our members' stories and voices to be
heard.

Most recently the Florida house thinks it found a fix for a
law on the death penalty so that executions can resume. The House voted 93-20 Thursday, February 18,
for a compromise bill aimed at restoring the law, the same law that was struck down last month by the U.S. Supreme Court?? The bill HB 7101 would require juries to
unanimously find an aggravating factor, whatever that means, that warrants death and then vote by a least
10-2 to impose the sentence. This bill does however, leave the decision of
death sentence in the hands of the jury taking away the power of the judges to
impose the penalty.

It is the opinion of many in the justice system that a law
must require juror's unanimity in death penalties. Common sense suggest
according to the Miami Herald that if the new statute lacks this crucial rule,
the nation's highest court will turn thumbs down again on the Florida death
penalty statute.

In the meantime Gov
Scott has ordered that Mark Asay be executed on Mar 17.

Saying that if one is looking to identify "failed
government programs ..., Florida's death penalty certainly fills the
bill," Brian Empric , vice-chairman of the Florida Federation of Young
Republicans, presents a conservative case against the death penalty. In a
recent guest column for the Orlando Sentinel, Empric says that - as the Florida
legislature weighs its response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hurst v. Florida - the state should halt all
executions "[u]ntil the constitutionality of our sentencing process is
satisfactorily addressed.... [M]ore important," he adds, "Floridians
are being presented with a great opportunity to re-examine capital
punishment." Empric argues that the death penalty conflicts with
conservative pro-life values and that "it is impossible to square capital
punishment with these views." He goes on to describe systemic
problems in the administration of capital punishment that he believes violate
conservative principles. He highlights the "prosecutorial misconduct, mistaken
eyewitness testimony, and reliance on erroneous forensic testimonies" that
has led to Florida's 26 death row exonerations - the most in the nation.
"The human element in the process," he says, "assures us that
the death penalty will never be entirely accurate, but when potentially
innocent lives hang in the balance, we cannot accept anything less than
perfection." He cites a study that found Florida could save at least $50
million by replacing the death penalty with life without parole, and notes that
Jefferson County, "was forced to freeze employee raises and slash its
library budget just to fund two capital cases." He calls the death
penalty, "a government program that fails to achieve its intended
objectives," and concludes, "It's an issue that should be of concern
to every voter

And what can
we do as concerned citizens.

Call Gov
Scott's office

850 488 7146

Send a
letter to Gov Scott

Call your
local representatives, house and Senate.

Only by
making our voices heard can we be the change we want to see.

A copy of my
letter to Scott is available at the door for those who might want to use it as
a basis. Be aware that if you choose to
e mail our Governor it becomes a public record on the internet - it is therefore my choice to use postal
correspondence.

`

Governor Rick Scott

State of Florida

400 S. Monroe St.

Tallahassee, Fl. 32399-0001

Dear Governor Scott

As a citizen of Florida
with a deep conviction of the
sacredness of all life, I strongly urge you to declare a moratorium on death penalty executions. Of the 142 death row inmates found not guilty
nationwide, that is exonerated, Florida
leads the nation with 26 exonerations.

This is more than any other state in the union according to
articles by the American Bar Association, the National Death Penalty
Information Center and Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. . Would these facts alone not point to the need
for a moratorium for those already waiting execution?

I wonder, has DNA evidence been used in all cases to
eliminate the possibility that innocents may be facing death? According to the Death Penalty Information
Center some 27 innocents were put to death and later found not guilty. Appalling!!
Is this not murder by the states?
What else can we call it?

No matter what one’s position on the morality of the death
penalty, we can all agree it is a tragedy if an innocent person is
executed. The American Bar Association
called for a moratorium in 1997. It
cites “serious problems with the administration of capital punishment across
the country.” And now the Supreme Court
finds Florida’s death penalty unconstitutional!

Governor Scott I urge you to seriously consider a moratorium
on executions in the name of all that speaks to “liberty and justice for all”